i had the first service done by my dealer for 120 dollars... i felt that it was a small price to pay to back my warranty up as i thought i would receive flack from em if something was wrong that would have been caught by the dealers first service (whether they had seen it or not). i do hafta say 250 dollars is rape tho.... take it elsewhere for ur first service.. as to the valves, while mine were good at 700 miles, i took it back at 1200 for my plate inspection and had them check the valves at that time and they needed to be shimmed. the owners manual is just a general guide its not the bible. not that that holds any weight with me either. if you ride ur bike like a 80 year old, maybe the valves wouldnt need shimming till 7500 (?) miles, but if ur actually ridin it and givin it some high RPM's (which is basically a necessity to make this bike perform) id say its a safe bet that before 7500 miles those valves are gonna need attendance.